Archives for: September 2005, 25

I have not found that MDs are particularly interested in why things happen. They want to find the right drugs or the right therapy to make the symptoms go away. But once the problem is solved, they do not seem interested in figuring out what made it happen in the first place.

I, however, am very interested in the "whys" of things. I may know why I had such a bad reaction to the colonoscopy. When I called to report my fever, the nurse told me that they had given me more than the usual amount of anesthesia. I was restless and seemed uncomfortable so they upped my dose. But I didn't know that when I left after the procedure.

At the hospital, the CT scan showed that my small intestine had shut down. "Temporary paralysis of procedure" they called it.

Here is what I believe happened. The doctor's orders said that I could eat anything I felt like eating after I got home. I was hungry after a day and a half on a liquid diet. I ate a normal Type O meal. It got a good start through my stomach, but when it hit may small intestine it had nowhere to go. This started the cramping and fever.

If you have a colonoscopy, my advice would be to stay on a liquid or soft food diet for 12 hours after you get home. If your digestive system is tolerating the food, increase the complexity of the foods. If, however you sense that your system is not ready for heavy food, you can give your body the time it needs to get back to normal. That simple advice would have saved me much grief.

If you are young, idealistic, and living a natural lifestyle, you may be thinking "I'll never have a colonoscopy or any other medical procedure. Yes - you will. If you have a test that shows a problem in an area where you have a genetic predisposition to disease, you will have the procedure. Do not deceive yourself, be prepared.

I never realized what a problem hospital food is to Type Os. When I filled out the paperwork, I said, no wheat, dairy, caffeine or chocolate. Wheat and dairy are my two biggest Type O avoids. Caffeine is avoid except for green tea - like I'm going to get green tea in the hospital. I break out in hives when I get chocolate. I thought saying no to four foods was very reasonable.

They brought me chocolate pudding, coffee, tea, milk, and creamed soup. They also brought jello, and a drink that was 15% juice and 85% who knows what. The only things that were not avoid were apple juice and chicken broth (unless the chicken broth was commercially canned, in which case it probably had MSG).

Some of it I sent back, requesting more apple juice. I got dirty looks for being hard to please. Some of it I ate anyway. I was so very weak and thirsty. And I knew the only way they would release me from the hospital was if I appeared normal.

If I knew I were going to be in the hospital, I would plan ahead and sneak food in. If I am ever unexpectedly in the hospital, I will have my husband sneak food to me. Hospitals do not serve foods that heal the body of a Type O.

If you are young, idealistic, and living a natural lifestyle, you may be thinking "I'll never go to a hospital." Yes - you will. If you are in a car accident, they will take you to a hospital, and you will wake up from surgery thankful for the doctors who put you back together. Don't be naÃ¯ve, be prepared.